Jewish Woman Executed in Iran

Iranian human rights group reports that Iran executed an Israeli-born Jewish woman along with her Armenian Christian husband.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 5/17/2011, 4:19 AM / Last Update: 5/17/2011, 4:15 AM

Iran has executed an Israeli-born Jewish woman along with her Armenian Christian husband, according to reports.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that Adiva Mirza Soleyman Kalimia and her husband Varjan Petrosian were hung back on March 14 at Evin Prison. According to the report, three other people, including one woman and two men, were also executed at the same time.

The report noted that the executions were done secretly.

Adiva Mirza Soleyman Kalimia was born in Jerusalem in 1956 to an Iranian-Jewish family, said reports. She resided in Miami for several years, and visited Iran three times in recent years before being arrested and put in prison.

The agency quoted a Revolutionary Court as confirming the executions but refusing to provide further details about surrendering the bodies for burial. The report added that relatives of the dead who tried to recover the bodies for burial were threatened with arrest.

The agency said that it is unknown what the executed prisoners were charged for, but the official cause of Kalimia’s arrest was reportedly adultery.

The Haraparak Daily newspaper in Armenia also reported about the execution, but noted that the Armenian Foreign Ministry had refused to release any comments on the incident.

Executions, especially of women, are a common occurrence in Iran. A famous such story in recent times was the story of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who had been convicted of adultery and of being an accomplice in the murder of her husband. The plan to execute her by stoning earned international condemnation by the United States, the European Union, international human rights groups, and Britain.

Iran later said it may back off stoning Ashtiani, largely due to the international pressure.